Enhancing Economic Democracy for Posted Workers : PROMO report

Abstract

The PROMO project is based around a series of policy workshops and conferences from 2017 and 2018. The project aims to make recommendations to improve: • national labour protection systems for posted workers; • institutions, practices and channels for promoting industrial democracy for posted workers; • the collection of data relevant to making informed posted worker policy decisions. Our method is to take existing research knowledge and improve on it through policy workshop discussions with experts and stakeholders. The first PROMO report (Kall and Lillie 2017), based on an extensive literature review, established that posted workers more often than not are not represented collectively and trade unions in the host countries either lack (effective) strategies focused on posted workers or consider this target group outside their jurisdiction or just too difficult to engage with. There is, however, considerable diversity between unions in different countries and sectors and some unions have taken steps to protect and represent the interests of posted workers as well. Posted workers often lack voice in their working lives and their rights are frequently violated (either accidentally or deliberately) by transnational service providers, making these workers’ need for collective representation especially urgent. Based on a literature review and focus group and individual interviews with social partners and other relevant actors in five different national/industrial relations contexts (Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, Italy, and Norway), this report aims both to identify weaknesses in the regulatory framework (whether national or European), that might be addressed through legislation or other policy action, and to make recommendations aimed at trade unions, based on best practices. The latter are not intended to be universally applicable: rather they illuminate strategies that some unions have had success with when addressing posted worker representation problems. Obviously, trade unionists must consider for themselves whether these can also be applied (or adapted) in their home context.